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The Vuelta a España released its preliminary start list Thursday for the upcoming edition for the Spanish grand tour with a few surprises.

Rabobank's Denis Menchov will be the only former Vuelta champion lining up in Seville.

As expected, some big names such as Carlos Sastre (Cervélo), the Schleck brothers (Saxo Bank) and Denis Menchov (Rabobank) are starting. Also making the list are the likes of Óscar Pereiro (Astana), who is expected to retire at the end of the season, Andrey Kashechkin (Lampre), back to the Vuelta following his blood-doping ban, and Tejay Van Garderen (HTC-Columbia), who will be making his grand tour debut.

Though there was some hope for a last-minute change of heart, RadioShack is not among the 22 starting teams for the August 28 start in Sevilla. Race organizers snubbed the American-based team in what remains a highly controversial decision, leaving out such riders as Haimar Zubeldia, Chris Horner, Levi Leipheimer and Chechu Rubiera, who is also going to retire at the end of the season.

Two riders who were trying to find rides for the Vuelta – Riccardo Riccò and Michael Rasmussen – are also missing from the preliminary start list. Both were rumored to be close to joining teams in time to start the Vuelta. Last year, Rasmussen’s name was not included on the preliminary start list, giving race organizers enough reason to leave him out of the Vuelta when he was close to joining a Spanish continental team for the remainder of the 2009 season.

Riccò is said to be close to penning a deal to join Quick Step, but it wasn’t soon enough for him to be listed on the Belgian squad’s list. Tom Boonen is listed is a replacement rider, but he is not expected to be ready from a recent knee surgery to be able to start.

Also missing will be recent Tour de France champion Alberto Contador, who made it clear he was not interested in racing the Vuelta following his hard-fought Tour win in July. Contador has hinted that he will ride two grand tours in 2011 as he makes the switch to Saxo Bank next season.

The Vuelta should enjoy a strong field for its 75th anniversary.

With last year’s winner Alejandro Valverde sidelined with a two-year doping ban dating back to his alleged role in the Operación Puerto blood doping ring, Sastre will start with the No. 1 bib. Joining him at Cervélo will be Dutch sprinter Theo Bos, who will be making his grand tour debut.

Van Garderen leads what’s a relatively light North American presence in this year’s Vuelta. Last year, four Canadians lined up in Holland; this year Christian Meier (Garmin-Transitions) could be the only Canadian.

David Zabriskie, Tyler Farrar and Tom Danielson (Garmin-Transitions) are the only other U.S. riders on the preliminary start list.

Frank and Andy Schleck will lead a strong Saxo Bank squad in what will be their final grand tour with Bjarne Riis. The brothers are leaving the team at the end of the season, but there’s still no official announcement about a rumored Luxembourg-backed team, fueling rumors the brothers could still be shopping for a ride next season.

Menchov, a two-time Vuelta winner, leads Rabobank that also includes three-time world champion Oscar Freire.

Even without Valverde, Caisse d’Epargne brings a strong team with Luís León Sánchez, Rigoberto Uran, David Arroyo and Marzio Bruseghin.

David Moncoutie (Cofidis) will be searching for a third Vuelta climber’s jersey while Nicholas Roche (Ag2r) could be looking for a top-5 if he’s as strong as he was in the recent Tour.

Andrew Hood

Andrew Hood cut his journalistic teeth at Colorado dailies before the web boom opened the door to European cycling in the mid-1990s. Hood has covered every Tour de France since 1996 and has been VeloNews' European correspondent since 2002.